'Yun Hae-gwan' Lee Cheol-gyu "Showing Anti-An Ban-yun Behavior While Talking About 'Yun-An Alliance'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Lee Cheol-gyu, a member of the People Power Party known as a Yoon core insider (Yoon Seok-yeol's key associate), criticized Ahn Cheol-soo, a contender for party leadership, saying he is "showing anti-Yoon (反尹) behavior" and raised his voice, urging him to "clarify his own identity and earn the choice of party members."

Lee Cheol-gyu, the budget committee secretary of the People Power Party, is attending and speaking at the '2023 Budget Proposal Debate' held at the National Assembly on the 25th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 2nd, Lee said through his social media (SNS), "Recently, claiming that the president's intention lies with him and selling Yoon's favor, while also stirring party sentiment by talking about cracks in the Kim-Jang alliance (Kim Ki-hyun-Jang Je-won), has crossed the line."

This was a direct response to Kim Young-woo, former lawmaker and election committee chairman of Ahn's camp, who appeared on a radio interview the previous day and said that Jang Je-won of the Kim-Jang alliance "felt hurt when told 'there is no Kim-Jang alliance,'" and Ahn himself hinted at "cracks in the Kim-Jang alliance" by saying "whether the Kim-Jang alliance or Yoon's favor is true, many things may differ from the facts."

He said, "After the regime change, those comrades supporting the government's operation were criticized as Yoon core insiders or Yoon favor sellers, and the person who used to interfere with the president's personnel appointments and governance is now pretending to be pro-Yoon or truly pro-Yoon when Yoon's favor becomes necessary, which is an unsightly fake Yoon favor seller act." He added, "It is a ridiculous situation where someone who cannot help the president but throws tantrums is instead crossing the line by acting as a pro-Yoon seller and attacking comrades."

Lee pointed out, "After the presidential election, the president gave Ahn Cheol-soo the opportunity to participate in government operations based on the spirit of unification. Nevertheless, Ahn neglected the important task of selecting national agenda items because things did not go his way, causing confusion, and publicly criticized the president's personnel appointments and governance in the media, claiming differences in opinion." He criticized, "Claiming to be truly pro-Yoon is like a counterfeit product illegally using a trademark."

He also accused Ahn of using the party leadership position as a "stepping stone for the presidential race." He said, "Party members who have protected our party would not want a party leader who attacks comrades working with the president for their own political gain, causing division and discord," and added, "Our party will not be used as a means for a specific individual's presidential ambitions."